436 illegal hunting activities in two weeks – Birdlife
Birdlife recorded 119 protected birds had been shot.
Birdlife volunteers recorded 436 illegal hunting incidents in just two weeks of the hunting season, the conservation organisation said yesterday.
The annual autumn raptor camp recorded 224 hunting incidents after the 3pm ban on weekdays and 1pm ban on Sundays, Birdlife conservation manager Nicholas Barbara told a news conference.
The raptor camp, which ends today, records the migration of birds of prey over Malta and illegal hunting incidents in September.
There were 127 incidents where illegal electronic lures were used and 68 instances of protected birds being shot, Mr Barbara said.
Initial data revealed a 40 per cent increase in the number of shot protected birds compared with September 2011. Birdlife received a total of 23 shot birds this year, Mr Barbara said.
Together with the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, Birdlife recorded 119 protected birds had been shot, 28 were recovered and 76 were seen flying with gunshot injuries.
Mr Barbara said these figures were just “the tip of the iceberg” and were only related to incidents that Birdlife were aware of.
The organisation received many more “uncorroborated reports” of shooting at protected birds and other illegal hunting incidents.
Birdlife president Joseph Mangion said the situation was still a “long way from being acceptable”. The Government continued to legislate the trapping of certain species in a “country where we aren’t able to properly enforce,” Mr Mangion said.
Last Wednesday, four Birdlife volunteers said they found the remains of 13 protected birds at Miżieb following a 90-minute search in a small area of the woodland.
Turning to protection, the volunteers noted the presence of police patrols in the countryside but insisted this was still not enough. New regulations were published last Tuesday allowing trappers to catch two bird species this autumn, instead of the one permitted last year, but they will have to abide by much stricter rules.
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JJ Agius
Sep 30th 2012, 12:44
There were thousands of traffic tickets issued in the last two weeks.Does it means all drivers are breaking the law?Or are we going to stop Driving in Malta? or are we to stop driving in rush hour?Stop all the Brainwashing & Pique & & try to come to some fair ground.Than we see things improoving?Stop blaming the police they are not God everywhere.
Gilinu
Emanuel Curmi
Sep 30th 2012, 11:08
@Mr Salnitro. The presence of the BL Raptor Camp and CABS during the last couple of week have been first and foremost a deterrant which have had relative success but nobody is fooling who that once the afternoon curfew ends and situation will degenerate to the old familiar one. You should have been present during last sunday when Girgenti, Buskett & Laferla ridge were lined with cars. It was quite obvious that most were hunters and their families who spoke quite openly how many raptors would have been shot down if the antis weren't about, So yes, most hunters were forced to observe the law but generally speaking that the illegal hunting problem has been contained is much too optimistim.
@Mr. John Xerri. electronic lures are easy to locate....nothing can be further from the truth and the art of concealment has become most sophisticated in most cases. You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.
Johnny Xerri
Sep 30th 2012, 13:53
Mr Curmi,
At msida every morning the traffi police are present...and the traffic flow is just ok...yet the very day the police are not there the traffic flow is similiar to what one would get if a pan of headless chicken had to be goven a skate board each.
At paceville there is relative control...when 30 police + CID police are roaming about...yet when they are not...total chaos would reign.
The moral being...each sector of society has its black sheep...each sector would run havoc if not supervised...that is what police are employed for.
I have no idea (as you state) coz I use live calls not pre recorded...however, as for the concealment...well are they so concealed as to be silent? I presume not since the scope is the sound...so all the police would have to do is spot the location through sound...obviously if he switches it off as soon as the police crop up all they would need is a metal detector and a quick scan in the location the sound was heard...saw this happen...when a hero thought he could hide his lure underground...wire up a speaker and operate using a remote...
but then again...if he gets caught after one day its only one illegality....if he gets caught after day 14 its 14 illegalities...if he never gets caught is an illegality a day upto day X...
Emanuel Curmi
Oct 1st 2012, 09:21
Dear Mr. Xerri, I am pleased that you agree with me that the hunting illegalities are rampant due to lack of enforcement and your examples actually add weight to that argument. As far as bird callers are concerned, I didn’t expect you to admit using them but , at least, to give some sort of reasoned opinion to refute or confirm that the widespread use of illegal bird callers is extremely difficult to control especially with the sophisticated gadgets being used. In fact, if there is a quick gauge of how widespread illegal hunting really is in Malta, a walk in our countryside in autumn, one is immediately faced with the dreary realities of this ‘noble’ sport. As far as the cliché ‘part of maltese traditions’ is concerned, it is just about as traditional as coke in a plastic bottle.
anthony sultana
Sep 30th 2012, 10:23
I never saw a birds killers obeying the law, I tell you how i know, because the birds killers tell me.They thing I am also a birds killer so they tell me and show me every thing.So now you are going to tell me to report them right.No I can' report them, the reason is, I am not in a position to report any body, the police are in a position to that.
Pippo De Marco
Sep 30th 2012, 14:27
And if you knew a rapist, or a murderer, or a tax-evader or a criminally dangerous motorist, would you also withold their names and details of their actions and leave matters to the Police ?
How do you suppose the Police solve crimes ? - Forensics and Magic ?
And isn't witholding evidence a criminal offence ?
mario salnitro
Sep 30th 2012, 10:02
Who is counting Birdlife??
I guess some people think that the TOM Readers are stupid!!!
Come on Birdlife say the truth and admit , that most hunters are obeying the law.
G Caruana
Sep 30th 2012, 10:27
You're absolutely right, TOM readers are not stupid, the last online poll showed 80% don't agree with you.
Peter Midler
Sep 30th 2012, 12:31
Ofcourse we are not stupid! We all know how most hunters are obeying the law. We all know who helped in destroying all nesting birds in Malta including ic-cawla, il-barbagan u hafna tajr iehor. We all know who is depriving all decent citizens the moral and civil right to enjoy seeing birds gracing our skies.
The declining bird population that visits our tiny island should be protected, not destroyed.
Who is counting? Surely not the konservazjonizisti (sic) who lost all credibility long ago and are seen by decent citizens as birdkillers and nothing more!
Not to mention also that these figures by Birdlife are only THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG! And the presence of BirdLife Raptor Camp and CABS is acting as a deterrent, otherwise we will be having more bird massacres!
Johnny Xerri
Sep 30th 2012, 09:53
So out of 436 alleged illegalities 224 cases were that of hunting after 3pm...a govt measure aimed at appeasing BLM & Co...a restriction that is in place only on our Island. This brings down the real alleged illegalities down to 212...out f which 127 cases related to the use of electronic calls that are mostly used to lure quail that in all effect are legal game birds...which brings down the cases of alleged real poaching to 79...out of which BLM claim that 68 amounted to shooting at protected species. These 68 cases are the real worrying problem.
68 alleged cases of shooting at protected species is way too much...for even 1 case is uncalled for. However, considering that there are 12,000 plus hunters, and another 4,000 plus trappers...assuming that these species were targeted by different people...and not the same morons...this implies a 68/16,000...or 0.425% of hunters shooting at protected species.
all illegalities are illegalities and full stop...however, electronic lures are not a 'major' crime...true that in countries that are on a main migratory route these can have a detrimental effect on the population...but in places that get a poor seasons such devices will hard make a difference (eg in Malta with a quail lure one may attract a few quails on good days...yet in spain without a lure one would kill 20 times as much).
However, my question is...electronic lures are easy to locate...too easy I would say...so did BLM call the ALE squad when they heard the lures...and then at dask the police caught the poachers...or did BLM jot it down on their note pad from day to day? In asking coz its one thing having 127 poachers using these lures and its another thing having 9 poachers using the lures for 14 days with BLM jotting these as an illegality day after day...(9*14=126). How can it be possible that a person switches on an electronic lure...BLM hear the lure...the police are allerted...then the poacher works the land with his dogs for at least an hr...and the poacher is not caught...smells fishy...anzi super fishy.
Pippo De Marco
Sep 30th 2012, 14:18
Spoken like a Politician.
Please choose the reason of your report below: